There were contrasting moods in the VfL and Hannover 96 camps following the Lower Saxony rivals’ Matchday 11 opener at the HDI Arena. VfL head coach Bruno Labbadia was deeply disappointed by his side’s inability to make the most of their countless goalscoring opportunities, while a relieved Hannover boss Andre Breitenreiter admitted his team rode their luck against the Wolves.
Bruno Labbadia: “I can’t think of much to say, to be honest. We couldn’t have created more chances than we did today. Hannover wanted to hit us on the break and defended very deeply. We made a lot of simple mistakes. The disallowed goal would have been the game-changer we needed against a very solid and compact outfit. It was obviously disappointing to go 1-0 down the way we did. We started the second half very well after making changes - again, we couldn’t have had more opportunities. The players never gave up, even after going 2-0 down. We even had chances to equalise - we could have earned a point today. We’re obviously disappointed.”
Andre Breitenreiter: “We’re obviously relieved to have got three points again today. Even after we made it 2-0 from the penalty spot Wolfsburg still kept pressing and kept themselves in the game. The 2-1 wasn’t a penalty - there was no contact there. After they’d made it 2-1 it’s quite normal to worry about letting the lead slip, but Lady Luck was definitely on our side again today.”
